


drizzle effect

by cafedeluna



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27631139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafedeluna/pseuds/cafedeluna
Summary: "Hi, I know this is sudden but our floor's heating system has stopped working and you know, it's in the middle of winter and it's cold and I don't want to freeze to death before I pass my assignments and before Christmas." Renjun finishes. He hears a laugh before him and he looks up from where his eyes have been fixed on the floor to see Donghyuck, gorgeous and disheveled in his loose grey shirt.Or in which, Donghyuck and Renjunwerechildhood friends who have grown apart because of college but somehow a deficient heating vent plays its part in fixing the two's impaired relationship.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 10
Kudos: 137





	drizzle effect

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is simply self-indulgent because I wanted to post something for my birthday and so it's here! Heads up, this is completely unbeta-ed but still, I hope you enjoy.

Childhood friends either drift apart or get together as those couples who look like they've been married for years, take Donghyuck's cousin Taeyong and his boyfriend Doyoung for example— they can raise a colony of ants. However, it wasn't the case for Donghyuck and Renjun's friendship; ever since the Huang's moved to the house across the street of Donghyuck's residence, the two have been inseparable since they began to share crayons in the neighborhood's kindergarten. They moved through school years together, sat beside each other and did every possible thing best friends could do and that includes enrolling in their dream university too! 

But with different dreams comes different paths and that started the stretch on their friendship. They began to get mixed in friend groups that didn't have a mutual connection with each other, a crowd of different atmosphere— until it seems like they are always at the opposite sides of the campus, with no sight of each other, not even for a second, nor a glimpse. 

Even with living in the same dorm building, fate comes in their way by placing Renjun on the third floor while Donghyuck lounges on the 10th. 

It's not that they began to hate each other, they couldn't even dislike each other— not with both of their parents always asking about the other boy whenever they call to say hi. And only in those long phone calls exchanged between family members do Donghyuck and Renjun allow their heart to feel the longing and the fear of wanting to reconnect but not knowing how to. 

But it all comes to an end, albeit suddenly, oddly even. 

Renjun has been in his room all day, sorting out the assignments that he had to deal with before winter break starts and every single student goes home to spend the holidays with their families. For that day, he decided to sit on the floor with his laptop open below him while he leans on the side of his bed; his blanket bunched up on his lap where a kitten lays asleep soundlessly. 

You see, pets are _not_ allowed in the dorms and Renjun knew that more than anyone else being the one who constantly bugged the dorm staff to let him keep one for _"college emotional support and therapeutic benefits"_ only to end up with a pout on his small face. In the end, whichever stray cat he sees on the street, he carried to the nearest pet shelter in the area (read: _five kilometers_ _away from the campus)_ with a heavy heart. However, that time, he simply cannot resist the urge to scoop the small snowball kitten in his even smaller hands; the cat finding warm, snuggled closely to his grey hoodie, burying her button nose in the fabric— and so Renjun was a goner.

Withthe kitten fast asleep, he slowly placed her in his backpack, which is thankfully huge enough to fit the little creature without disturbing her sleep and he left a little gap between its zipper so air would come in. 

He held his breath as he walked inside the building but still managed to send his brightest smile to the middle aged man who guards the entrance for them. And just like that, he passed the first obstacle until what he only had to worry was how to not get caught. 

Who would've thought that the kitten would become the odd twist of how his heart would be aching at the thought of Lee Donghyuck, to beating loudly in his chest because of a gorgeous, disheveled hair Lee Donghyuck standing in front of him. 

❆ ❆ ❆

"Hi, I know this is sudden but our floor's heating system has stopped working and you know, it's in the middle of winter and it's cold and I don't want to freeze to death before I pass my assignments and before Christmas." Renjun finishes. He hears a laugh before him and he looks up from where his eyes have been fixed on the floor to see Donghyuck, gorgeous and disheveled in his loose grey shirt. 

Donghyuck, crinkles in his eyes and shirt hanging low on his right shoulder, sizes up Renjun who is standing outside his door. “You’re rambling,” it is not a question but a phrase that has been said hundreds of times already prior to their current situation. “And why do you have a cat in your arms?” Donghyuck raises an eyebrow at him. He raises an eyebrow at Renjun then back to the kitten sleeping in his arms, like a tuft of cloud. 

The Chinese boy only gives him a look that is unreadable to the eyes of an outsider but not to Donghyuck who apparently still recognizes his little quirks. “Oh shit, Huang Renjun breaking a rule? Now that’s interesting,” And of course, it wouldn’t be Donghyuck without the sunkissed boy taking a chance to tease Renjun about it. But even before the grin on Donghyuck’s face could fully shape into one, followed by whatever words he has in mind that would always be able to rile up Renjun, ending with the both of them bantering back and forth— Renjun halts him with a raise of his index finger up against his line of sight. 

“I am freezing, so unless you’re planning to ignore my existence please tell me if I could come in?” Renjun says; there is a beat or two of silence that follows as he realizes the weight of his words to himself and it seems like Donghyuck feels it too, the plunge of the words in him as he steps aside to open the door wider, accommodating Renjun’s tiny frame. 

“Yeah, sure, come in.” Donghyuck’s voice is no longer tinted with amusement but is toned down, like an ice has just been poured down his throat, sitting heavily in his stomach and he bares through it once Renjun silently makes his way inside. 

The dorm feels familiar to Renjun; not only because of how the design is similar to his own like any other rooms in the building, but it’s the traces of Donghyuck in the place, one that he still clearly remembers. Stepping inside his _best friend’s_ — _former_ best friend, or _is it just a friend now_ — space feels like a vault that opened on it’s own, flooding his mind with memories that makes an imprint within him, so stirring that it feels like he would collapse. 

Donghyuck catches the little shake on Renjun’s body as soon as he closes the door. His instinct takes over his body immediately and captures Renjun’s elbow in his hand. “Are you okay?” Worry is laced in his honey-voice and Renjun almost sways completely to that; the realization of how much he misses his best friend, on how much time had passed and how much was wasted, wearing him down. 

Willing himself to drown in the thoughts that came abruptly, Renjun flashes Donghyuck an assuring smile.

 _One that lights up the world,_ Donghyuck’s mind supplies. 

“I’m fine, I told you I’m freezing. I can’t believe the heating broke down in the middle of winter.” Renjun answers, sighing at his own demise.

They both stand there for a few seconds, with Donghyuck’s hand still attached to the other boy’s elbow and Renjun— staring down at the kitten in his arms. Almost forgetting that they have company. 

“Wait, is it really okay to be here for awhile? What about your roommate?” Renjun questions, breaking the static silence between them that stirs Donghyuck from dwelling on how soft Renjun’s hair looks like. Immediately, his hand drops to his side and like a switch that has been flicked on, reversing into a persona that he is known for— the ever enigmatic Lee Donghyuck. 

"Nah, Jeno is over at Jaemin's. He probably won't be back until they suck each other's face for about 12 hours," Donghyuck answers with nonchalance. He then carries himself off to the small corner they call a kitchen to quickly turn on their stove and put on the kettle. "So, make yourself comfortable. Do what you have to do," and he throws a look at Renjun's backpack, knowing full well that the boy brought with him the things he needs to take care of. "The couch is at your disposal, or there's also my bed." 

_And well_ , _on the opposite side of the city, a glass breaks._

Donghyuck inwardly panics. 

Renjun's back stiffens. 

"I mean, like— like my bed! Like, you can use it if you want a more comfortable place, is what I mean." He feels himself flushing at his own words, eyes shaky, hands curling to fists at his side as Donghyuck feels the need to defend himself. "You used to do so before! I always end up studying on the floor, in my own room because you want the bed." 

_Silence._

But only for a few heart beats, broken by Renjun's laugh that rings satisfyingly in Donghyuck's ears. 

"Now, look who's rambling." Renjun comments, fondness bubbling inside him. "I'll take the couch so you can _finally_ take the bed," there's playfulness in Renjun's voice and Donghyuck bathes in the moment. 

He missed it. 

He missed the sound of Renjun's laughter that would echo in his room whenever the other boy would come over to his house, just to read the newest book that he is so immersed in on his bed, while Donghyuck would play on his phone on the floor, game muted as he prefers to listen to his best friend's small comments about the paragraph that he is reading. 

Donghyuck watches Renjun settle on the couch after making sure that the kitten is snuggling comfortably on the throw pillows. After that, he takes care of his laptop and notebooks that have colored notes sticking from one side— _reminders and key words to what he's studying_ — Donghyuck is very much familiar with those. 

He still remembers the fear of being chased by Huang Renjun who was raising a bat over his head, down their neighborhood's street because of how he carelessly flipped through Renjun's notebook, making the little post-it notes fall off from the pages he stuck it on. Although it ended in a way that still makes Donghyuck's heart flutter as of that moment, especially with having Renjun close to him; Donghyuck's mind plays him of the moment when Renjun caught up to him, tackling him down on their neighbor's front yard until two sets of arms finds their way around each other, high school boys, giggling, out of breath but most of all, taming down a bubble of feelings in their hearts. 

Donghyuck hears the kettle make a sound behind him but he lets it blur as he focuses on the way Renjun tucks his feet under him and begins to flip through the pages of his sketchbook— Donghyuck feels the longing in his heart, his hands itching to hold Renjun's waist, the way he did on that little scruffle they had on the front yard. 

He wants to be able to hold his hand and feel the way Renjun's palm slides against his, fingers entwining. 

_Oh, how badly he wants to_. To never lose sight of Renjun again whenever he spots him from a distance before the crowd engulfs him or before Donghyuck gets carried away by the new things he had surrounded himself with. 

And this time, Donghyuck would never let go. 

❆ ❆ ❆

Renjun doesn't know when he fell into slumber and much more on how he is in bed. But he didn't have to think for long in his sleep induced brain when a movement in the corner of the room gets his attention. 

On the floor to be exact is Donghyuck. Head leaning back against his closet, eyes close and earphones blocking him from hearing anything, he sits there threading in between consciousness and sleep. It’s been an hour and a half since he carried Renjun from his uncomfortable position on the couch to his bed, tucking him under his duvet and making sure that his sock clad feet are hidden underneath it. 

Renjun lets his eyes trail over Donghyuck’s calm face, he roams from his forehead, following down to the slope of his nose, the long eyelashes that rests softly on the apple of his cheeks, the beauty marks the dots his face— Renjun has counted them before, as someone who loves the stars and astrology, he used to lean close to Donghyuck’s face so he could pretend that he’s tracing constellations. And now that Renjun thinks deeply about it, it was one of those times that he truly felt Donghyuck’s effect on him. When tracing his moles was no longer about his interest in zodiac signs and stars but about how he sees literal stars in Donghyuck’s eyes and on how he would love to grace him kisses as he counts them. 

He wants to see those again; gaze into his best friend’s eyes closely; like an astrologer gazing through a telescope except that the galaxy he is looking at is just a breath away from him. 

_And so Renjun decides._

“Hyuck,” he calls for the other boy from the bed. Renjun remembers the earphones and lets out a soft huff. Looking around he snatches the nearest thing he can put his hand on, luckily it’s a rubber duck sitting on the bedside table— why it’s there, Renjun can only imagine. He grips the yellow rubber surely in his hand, it’s a small one that fits snugly in his hand; and then he hurls it at Donghyuck. 

_A soft thud comes._

“What the fuck, Huang?” Donghyuck wakes, slightly startled but finds Renjun’s grin immediately and the idea of playing annoyance melts at him. It’s the least of his worries when he got a beautiful boy sitting in the middle of his full sized bed; the faint light of mid-afternoon outside providing a soft halo behind Renjun where the window is. Yes, he can’t make a fuss about being thrown off a rubber duckie.

And then Renjun giggles, _Renjun giggles!_ (Read: Donghyuck might act up for a different matter because of a _giggle! Renjun’s giggle!_ You know? The boy who lives silently in his mind as he gets caught up in the bare minimum matters of life when he has a whole universe waiting for him. _)_

“In my defense, I called you.” Renjun shrugs at him. “It’s not my fault that you’re wearing earphones. And who the fuck does even wear earphones these days? Where’s your earpods? I heard your Mom got them for you, like, was it last month?”

Donghyuck wants to kiss him but opts for raising an eyebrow instead. “Excuse you, earphones are still in the fashion market.” 

Renjun scoffs, defiant face etched on his visage. “Yeah? Like the 2008 fashion market?”

 _He wins this one,_ Donghyuck thinks to himself. So he diverts, hoping to gain the upperhand in the squabble that is starting to unfold between them. _Just like the old times._

“How did you even know about the earpods anyway?” Hyuck gives him a highbrow. “Obsessed much?” 

“You wish. Your Mom told me about it when she called to greet me on my birthday, unlike _some people_ who have been out of the radar for two years already.” Now, Renjun didn’t actually say that to attack because he is also guilty of it in his own way. Them losing connection wasn’t a one-party guilt, they both know they contributed to it in some different ways. So when the color on Donghyuck’s face drains away, Renjun knows that wounds has been opened. 

As much as they both want to dissect it all, they also know that they need a ground where they can stand on comfortably. Without any restraints; and what are the chances of Renjun knowing how exactly they can do that. 

“Come here,” Renjun breaks the silence that has fallen over them. He stretches his arms in both sides, the sleeves of his hoodie almost eating up the whole of his hands under its material, only leaving the tips of fingers exposed. However, Donghyuck only looks at Renjun with a baffled expression. 

“What do you mean _‘come here’_?” Donghyuck asks, brows furrowed, mind calculative. 

“It is exactly what I mean, Hyuck. Come here, on the bed.” Renjun says with finality in his tone. But Donghyuck didn’t rise to his feet because of that, it’s not the demand of Renjun’s voice that made him walk to his bed albeit still unsure, nor the smile on Renjun’s face that made him stop on the foot of his bed. 

“ _Hyuck,_ huh?” Donghyuck softly mutters. Looking anywhere but in Renjun’s eyes.

That’s how Renjun knows that they can start again.

“Yes, dumbass, now come here. It seems the heating system on this floor isn’t working too well either.” Renjun opens his arms wider until he feels the dip on the bed that soon shifts into a full on crash when Donghyuck literally dove at him, driving them both down on the bed with a force that almost made them bounce. 

Without restraints, Donghyuck snakes his arms around Renjun’s torso and locks them in place by holding on to his own biceps. He snuggles close, burying his face on Renjun’s chest and what meets his sense of smell is the scent of jasmine, _Renjun’s favorite._

Donghyuck’s hair tickles Renjun’s chin but he buries his face into them nonetheless as he wraps his own arms around Donghyuck’s shoulder, both of their hold on each other almost rendering them incapable of moving. 

But it’s comfortable, like coming home after a shitty year in college which still applies to them. 

“Injunnie,” comes Donghyuck’s muffled voice but Renjun catches it clearly, not of his hearing but of familiarity. “I missed you.” 

Sincerity and longing bleeds through those three words; Renjun clutches on to Donghyuck tightly at those. In those they know that it’s more than missing someone you love but it’s the resignation towards something that you are no longer in control of. Like a dam being pushed to its breaking point and all the water, lodged there for two years needs to be let out. 

“Don’t speak just yet, please.”’ Donghyuck adds. Renjun nods. “I miss you, and I want to stop missing you. Not in ways that make me ungrateful of your existence but just— I don’t want to think of you and miss you and not doing anything about it. I want to miss you and be able to call you even if we’re 7 floors apart. I want to miss you even if we’re literally just on the same couch, watching the same movie on a Friday, I want to miss you and then hold your hand. I just—” Donghyuck stops, knowing full well that if he doesn't, he’ll choke with the amount of air pressing against his lungs. The emotions that have been imprisoned for too long, clawing inside him to be whispered with Renjun to hear them. “I don’t want to walk down the hallways, thinking if I could take a glimpse of you even from afar. I want to miss you in ways that my heart won’t feel like it’s being clamped down by a bear trap.” 

However, even with all the emotions that could pour down like a storm, it doesn’t have to be one. It can come in the form of a drizzle, that would pour down on the path as you go, taking your time to water all the plants in its way. 

“So, you’re basically saying that you want to take me on dates, walk with me to campus, call me at night and have movie date nights where we could end up kissing on the couch instead of watching the movie?” Renjun mutters, the teasing lilt to his voice clear. “Obsessed much?” 

Donghyuck groans and pulls his head back to look directly in Renjun’s eyes. “That’s usually my kind of line, but yes. Let’s go back to being best friends, except this time let me love you more.” And there is no shame when Donghyuck says it. No hesitation, just the conviction of what he is proclaiming. 

Renjun laughs, fondness swimming in his eyes when he meets Donghyuck’s brown orbs. He stares, at the eyes that show him the galaxy from such close proximity. He brings his face forward, a smile constant on his lips and sincerity heavy in his eyes. 

Renjun bumps their noses together. He hums. 

“I miss you too, dumbass. And yeah, let’s do all those.” Renjun finally speaks. “Don’t let go of me this time.”

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/dotaeholic) / [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/dotaebfs)


End file.
